Georgian Parliament official accuses UNM party of triggering anti-Georgia disinformation efforts

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration, on Sunday criticised contracts signed by the United National Movement with the US-based lobbying firms, calling the agreements part of disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining Georgia and promoting radicalisation.

In his remarks, Makhashvili emphasised that these contracts went beyond normal lobbying, representing actions that harm Georgia’s national interests.

“We saw the contract signed by the United National Movement and the numerous disinformation campaigns that followed against Georgia, against the very positive processes currently taking place in the country. We should not view this merely as a lobbying process or a contract. This is a contract directly against Georgia’s interests, whose goal is not to promote political activity but to encourage radicalisation in Georgia”, he said.

A document reflecting the work carried out by the lobbying company Nelson Mullins, hired by the United National Movement, was published in the US Department of Justice’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) database.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Saturday stated in response to a journalist’s question regarding a document published in the US FARA registry, related to a lobbying company hired by the domestic opposition United National Movement party, that “for us, this is not a lobbying contract” and that the matter requires a proper investigation.